Friday night we headed out for the Ásgeir gig at the Sinclaire in Cambridge, MA. I had not heard the opener, Tusks, and was very pleasantly surprised. You can see all the photos over at my Facebook page by clicking the one below:
all of my Icelandic concert photos will begin appearing on the RagnaarBastiaan FB page including the upcoming Iceland Airwaves, so if you’re so inclined, like the page and follow along.
Unlike past years, Iceland Airwaves will be in two cities this year, Reykjavik and Akureyri giving festival goers a chance to see more of the island, and from the looks of it, bringing more Icelandic bands from all over together to play. You can now look at the schedule here. And here are my tips to make the festival more enjoyable.
I will be photographing the festival this year and if you follow my Facebook page you view at your leisure. You can see photos from Airwaves past here.
218 bands have been announced so far of which 162 are Icelandic. I make this page as a quick reference and it’s a good thing to bookmark while you’re at the festival. There will be times where your plans may not come to fruition and you can look at the app, find a band you’ve never heard of for plan B, and use the quick reference here to see if you dig it.
Iceland Airwords is back as well. A night of Poets, authors, and literature, including Ásta Fanney Sigurðardóttir, Kristín Ómarsdóttir, Andri Snær Magnason, Bergur Ebbi Sigurðsson, Kött Grá Pjé. Check the online schedule for times.
With Icelandic bands it can always be hard to categorize their music styles as one of the greatest things about them is their ability to snag and grab their favorite things from all over the musical spectrum and make it work for them. So these lists are just general nods in the direction you may be looking for, for example, the Dance table, they sit right on the edge of electronic and dance pop/rock and beats. But I tried to focus on the prominence of a lead singer and the beats of the bulk of their songs in deciding which side to place them.
I’ve also made a table of just Möller Records and Thule Records artists as they have quite the strong presence this year. Both of these record labels have continually brought amazing electronic acts out of the Icelandic woodwork for years and I’m really stoked to visit their stage and get my fill of their collective music.
Categorizing some bands can be extremely difficult as they run borders are freely through genres, so if you feel a band needs to be moved into a different category let me know and I’ll change it.
| Electronic / DJ / Atmospheric / experimental | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chevron | DJ. flugvél og geimskip | DJ Snorri Ástráðs | DJ Spegill |
| DJ Sura | Frank Murder | Good Moon Deer | Kosmodod |
| Ljósvaki | Púlsvídd | Röskva | Ruxpin |
| Tonik ensemble | TRPTYCH | Yagya | |
| Veteran Electronic Record Labels: Möller & Thule Records | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Án (M) | Andartak (M) | Árni² (M) | Bistro Boy (M) |
| Cold (T) | Futuregrapher (M) | Gunnar Jónsson Collider (M) | NonniMal (T) |
| Octal Industries (T) | Ozy (T) | Ohm (T) | Subliminal (M) |
| Thor (T) | Vector (T) | ||
| Dance / electronic / pop / rock | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Blissfull | FM Belfast | GusGus | Mikael Lind |
| Milkywhale | PASHN | Sólveig Matthildur | Sykur |
| Sylvia | |||
| Punk / Metal / Hardcore / Garage Rock / Prog Rock | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Dr. Gunni | For a Minor Reflection | Fræbbblarnir | Grísalappalísa |
| Gróa | HAM | Hatari | Hórmónar |
| Kælan Mikla | Kontinuum | Korter í flog | Mammút |
| Phlegm | Pink Street Boys | ROHT | Skelkur í bringu |
| Tappi Tíkarrass | Tófa | Une Misère | We Made God |
| Composers / Atmospheric / Audio Visual | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Amiina | Bára Gísladóttir | GlerAkur | Gyða Valtýsdóttir |
| Halldór Eldjárn | Jónas Sen | ||
Anytime an Icelandic band comes to Boston, I do everything I can to be there. As it so happens, the Ásgeir gig this last Friday coincided with my new purchase of a much faster camera lens. So, I was able to practice and catch a great gig, two birds…one stone kind of thing and the like. You can click any of these pics to see the actual photos on my Flickr account.
The gig was at Great Scott, a bar in Allston famous for hosting acts rather late in the night. FM Belfast played there last year also to a sold out crowd. It’s a simple set up, but the sound is typically good, and the beer and vodka rather cheap.
Connor Youngblood opened for the band. He’s a youngin’ out of Dallas Texas often seen on stage with multiple instruments strapped around him. His pedal boards were impressive, and so was his ability to shift between the sounds and loops he created during his songs. There is very little out there on him, but I did find this interview, and his website. (which could use an about me section.)
Ásgeir and his band of motley fools were next. Filling the tiny stage to it’s capacity and beginning the soothing songs he’s famous for. We luckily got to hear a few songs in Icelandic, and he did a very smooth, high pitched version of Heartshaped box a little more than halfway through his set. The girls, and a few guys, were swooning and it made taking photos nearly impossible as the crowd was all but sitting in the band’s lap on the stage.
I have to say that I loved his drummer, and even though the lighting wasn’t very good and he was in the dark a lit of the time, it was fun to watch him play.
I still have quite a bit of practice to get the hang of the new lens, there were noise issues, and a prime lens takes some getting used to. But the concert was great, and good times were had. So, thank you to Ásgeir‘s management for the opportunity to snap some shots, and thanks to Ásgeir and Connor Youngblood for a great gig.
It was a fantastic Iceland music snack before ATP Iceland, which is less than a month away. But that’ll be an entirely different post.
Ragnaar's Icelandic Music Blog 